The Tussle
Two years after the pandemic shut down offices, are there still leaders in your organization who think that the employees who work in the office are more productive than those who work from home? Are you still having the tussle over where people should work? Let’s look at information to help dispel their theories about WFH and productivity.
Stanford University did a study of thousands of call center employees and found those who worked remotely showed a 13% increase in performance metrics.
Another pre-pandemic study showed that American Express teleworkers handled 26% more calls and produced 43% more business than their office-based coworkers.
Research completed during the pandemic is equally positive regarding remote workers. A PwC remote work study shows that remote work has been an overwhelming success for both employees and the employer.
If you’re trying to build a case in your organization, keep in mind, as you present these facts, that your leaders are probably expressing their own beliefs based on their experiences. After all, they got to where they are by working hard and being visible
When evaluating whether your employees are more productive in the office or at home, look at individuals and not large groups of people. When working remotely, productivity depends on having the right tools to do the job, the proper level of self-motivation, and innovative, and flexible supervision.
Respond to your leadership’s concerns by defining productivity, which usually means how efficient an employee is in completing a specific task. It is directly tied to effectiveness which can be further defined as the capability of producing a desired result. See if these definitions work for your leaders or are they seeing productivity much differently, such as profitability or growth in revenue.
Trying to figure out the new world of work as it is changing around us isn’t easy. There is no surprise that some people aren’t comfortable working with people they don’t physically see daily. Yet, we may never totally return to that model.
In fact, we’ve been moving away from that way of working for a long time. Consider how many organizations have long operated globally with employees on different continents, led by people many employees never met. Global teams have operated the same way hybrid workers are operating today. Has that stopped them from being productive?
As you navigate this murky issue of who is more productive, remote versus in-office staff, recognize there isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. Focus on helping your leaders do their best to inspire, motivate, and reward your great employees for their contributions—no matter where they physically work.